THE WESTERN PATRONAGE OF FASCISM AND ITS INTERNATIONALISATION FROM 1945 TO 1991

Abstract

The post-1945 international order has conventionally been portrayed as a definitive break from fascism and a triumph of liberal democracy, yet the historical evidence suggested a far more complex continuity that held significant implications for understanding modern authoritarian resurgence. This analysis examined the period between 1945 and 1989 through a historical-materialist and post-colonial lens, emphasizing how institutional practices embedded within Western security, financial, and cultural infrastructures reproduced core fascist imperatives. Archival material, declassified intelligence records, and comparative case studies demonstrated that the post-war order incorporated former Nazi cadres into Western intelligence networks, institutionalized authoritarian interventions through covert CIA operations and debt-driven IMF–World Bank policies, and legitimized these practices through a Cold War cultural discourse that externalized fascism onto communist adversaries. The comparative evidence indicated that these measures collectively formed a liberal-fascist hybrid that preserved hyper-nationalism, racialized exclusion, and executive exceptionalism within ostensibly democratic frameworks. The case ultimately showed that the post-war liberal order did not extinguish fascism but instead reconfigured it into technocratic forms that continued to shape global governance. Recognizing this lineage offered a critical foundation for future research on contemporary far-right movements and the institutional logics that enable their resurgence.